Israel concludes largest military drill along Lebanon border

Israel yesterday announced that it had concluded its largest military exercise which was held along its border with Lebanon, Channel 7 reported.

Earlier this week, the Israeli forces deployed thousands of air, sea and land personnel to the Lebanese border for its biggest military drill in almost two decades, in preparation for what the army called “a potential war with Hezbollah”.

The Israeli channel said that the exercise, which was named “Or Hadagan” or “Light of the Grain”, was aimed at improving the capabilities of the army’s Northern Command and its relevant battalions during emergencies at the Lebanese border.

The two-week drill included different scenarios that covered the defending, attacking and manoeuvring capabilities simultaneously and over a long period of time, while maintaining operational capacity, according to the channel.

Read: Israeli jet violates Lebanese airspace

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who had overseen the full manoeuvres, recently stressed that the operation is “a reminder to all those who intend to harm the security of the Israeli people,” adding that “the next conflict would be devastating for the other side.”

The former commander of the Israeli army’s Southern Command, Yoav Galant, has also said that the manoeuvres are important, especially “when we remember that we are facing an enemy “which possess at least 100,000 short-range rockets and several thousand more missiles that can reach central Israel.”

The last time the Israeli army held a drill this wide was in 1998, which had included scenarios of a war with Syria.